Golfers often have difficulty lining up golf shots. It is very easy for a golfer to lose the target line that runs from the golf ball on the tee to the green or a point in the fairway, especially when the target is a great distance away. This difficulty is accentuated by the fact that the golfer is attempting to line up such a shot while setting up squarely to a golf ball directly in front of them while that target line extends far into the distance. In other words, maintaining a target line at a 90.degree. angle to the ball placement line when the target distance is 100 to 400 yards away causes difficulty in attaining the proper alignment. In fact, the margin for error is great in golf unless the alignment to the target line can be consistently observed or maintained. Alignment errors one inch to the right or to the left of the target line near the position of the golf ball can have a drastic effect on the ultimate direction the ball takes during flight.
Prior art golf aids exist that assist the practicing golfer in such areas as addressing the golf ball correctly, with the proper stance, swing, or ball placement. One of the problems with certain golf aids in the prior art is that the devices are often too cumbersome in design for use as a portable device in the fairway or even during driving range practice. That is, the prior art suggests pocket portability for practice purposes but there is no embodiment which illustrates the feasibility for such a design. In addition, because they are cumbersome, these designs often do not lend themselves to the possibility of a miniature configuration. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,563,010.
Another problem is that prior art golf aid designs create distractions on the ground in front of a practicing golfer. For instance, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,110,132, 5,224,709, and 5,246,234. It is desirable to provide a golf aid that is less of a distraction than those of the prior art.
One prior art embodiment uses tape to make a perpendicular line which is too flexible. For the marked tapes may malfunction too easily. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,453.
Another problem with some prior art golf alignment aids is that they do not offer a means to individualize or customize indicators on the alignment device. For instance, certain golf aids allow notations to be made on certain pieces of equipment; however, there is no means for personalizing club and ball locators.
The present invention enables the golfer to create a perpendicular relationship between the ball line and the target line. The present invention provides a portable golf alignment aid for fairway and driving range practice that is flexible for ease of club face location selections and may be customized to allow easy location of club face placement for a particular golfer.